First Principles
by nicole813711
Summary: Each person has the power to make a difference. While this is true, not everyone does. At Hogwarts, few have left behind a legacy, Tom Riddle and Harry Potter being a few. This is the story of one such student. This is the story of one American muggleborn witch who chose to defy the odds. (Interconnected one-shot. Full summary inside. Multiple OCs. Timeline:Pre-books to post-books)
1. Summary and Introduction

**Disclaimer: For this chapter and all others within this story, I do not own any of the recognizable characters. The _only_ character that I have any claim to whatsoever, no matter how small and insignificant, is Zephyr Carbino. Her and her family are of my own creation, as is the idea or plot that surrounds her. Anything else that you recognize belongs to the beautiful and amazing Jo Rowling.**

Summary:

Each person has the power to make a difference. While this may be true, each person doesn't necessarily always make a difference. Especially when you attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many students have passed through these halls, and few have had the power to do more than leave a half-baked impression upon their professors. There are some, like Tom Riddle and Harry Potter, who have the power to change Hogwarts and beyond- their influence far reaching. This is the story of one such student. This is the story of one American muggle born witch who chose to defy the odds. Read and watch as, through these interconnected one-shots, she changes the lives of those she touches.

 **A/N: Alright, so I hope no one kills me, but I'm posting another story. I've had this one stuck in my head for a while and I just needed to start writing it and getting it out. It'll be a series of one-shots detailing the life of this young girl, who will ultimately cause a ripple effect. Updates will probably be irregular, and the chapters will be extremely short, but I think it has some merit.**

 **It's worth a read, I think. If you like it, great, please review. If not, well, that's fine too.**


	2. Arc I: Nyx I

**Arc I: "All good things to those who wait."**

 ** **Nyx I****

Zephyr Carbino was only three years old when her mother, Nyx, first noticed that she wasn't quite normal. Nyx's father recommended having Zephyr tested, but Nyx knew better. Regardless of what others said, she knew it wasn't a mental disorder that made Zephyr strange. Oh no. Zephyr may have some slight anger management issues, if anything, but the oddities weren't produced internally. At least, not from her cranium. No, these seemed to be external factors. At least, that's what they first appeared to be when she found three year old Zephyr on the top of the tall bookshelf.

She had been utterly bewildered by the happening and had immediately called her father. Her father, a well renowned pediatrician had been astounded when his daughter recounted the story. Astounded to the point that it bordered on disbelief. After all, no three year old child would have the upper body strength to lift themselves up to the bookshelf. He ultimately decided upon the sanest and most plausible option: an intruder. Or, perhaps, a neighborhood teenager looking for a little chaos. As such, he recommended Nyx installing a house alarm to protect her, Zephyr, and Zephyr's one year old half brother from intruders. Still, Nyx wasn't entirely convinced of an intruder. She installed the alarm system anyway, her father offering to pay for the system. Who was she to deny the extra protection? After all, it couldn't hurt.

It wasn't until several months later that she received more proof that it wasn't an intruder. The alarm, installed and always on, never once went off in the time she had the system. Yet, she still found Zephyr in the darndest of places. Once it was in the cabinet above the stove, and another time it was on top of the fridge. These curious incidents continued well into Zephyr's late toddler years, and even beyond. However, she was never around when the incidents took place. No, she always noticed the incident afterwards, and only when faced with the startling result. It wasn't until a little after Zephyr's sixth birthday that she witnessed one incident, and shortly realized that, perhaps, these incidents were produced from some sort of internal prompting after all.

 **A/N: This is the first chapter. As mentioned, all chapters will be short. I will try to keep most at around this length, though some may be longer or shorter. The story will ultimately have three arcs, or three separate periods, in which the chapter numberings will be reset. (Ex. Zephyr XXV will become Zephyr I, etc.) Any and all reviews are welcome, though blatant flames will be disregarded as you simply being an insignificant toadstool with low self-esteem and nothing better to do than try to bring other's self-esteem down, just so you can feel better about yourself. Sorry, but I can't stand flames.**

 **Getting off my high horse, and stopping the rant, this will be one of a few author's notes. I won't have many as they honestly aren't necessary for most of these chapters. So, as a blanket statement now: thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave an encouraging or constructive review if you have the time.**

 **Thanks!**

 **~Nicole813711**


	3. Arc I: Zephyr I

Disclaimer: The only things I own are any characters that aren't recognizable from the Harry Potter franchise. All else belongs to JK Rowling.

 **Zephyr I**

A week after Zephyr's sixth birthday found her and her brother, Erebus, outside on their playset. Zephyr was taking a turn on the swing and, as most children do, was refusing to allow her brother a turn. Erebus was crying, demanding that he be given a turn, but Zephyr ignored him, swinging higher and higher. Her mother was nearby- just inside- and she was watching them. Zephyr had no reason to worry. She looked to the kitchen door and, upon seeing her mother's motions, slowed down so not to scare her as much. Just as she slowed down, coming to the lowest point in her swing, she was pushed forwards and off the swing by her brother.

"My turn!" Erebus cried, jumping on the swing. Zephyr had already spun around, shaking in anger. As Erebus started to swing higher and higher, Zephyr's hand raised, pointing at the swing. With a loud _snap_ , the metal links shattered, and Erebus fell forwards on the dirt. Zephyr's mother ran outside, shouting as she reached Erebus, inspecting him for injuries. Zephyr watched on in shock, trying to understand what had happened. True, her brother was being a brat, but she didn't _really_ want him to get hurt. How had it happened? How had the metal snapped, almost as if by magic? Did she do it?

Confused as she was, it was the proof her mother had needed. And so, later that evening, Zephyr was sat down by her mother to discuss the events that had occurred. "I swear I didn't mean to," Zephyr told her, tears filling her eyes.

"I know," her mother had replied, gazing over her daughter with tears in her eyes. "I know, baby, and I'm sorry. Whatever this is, we'll work through it- together. I promise you. But you have to promise me one thing- you have to promise me you'll learn to control it. We'll do it together, but you've got to control it."

Zephyr nodded, thinking about poor Erebus. She never wanted to hurt him like that again. He was her younger brother, after all, and it was her duty to protect him. Even from herself. She would do as her mother asked, and she would learn to control whatever this was. After all, if she so easily did that to her own brother, what would she do to the other children at school? To be honest, she didn't want to find out.

 **A/N: I know I haven't updated this story since the day I published it back in September, but life got in the way. I will try and make an effort to post at least one chapter once a week. However, since I do have a great many chapters or one-shots already written, I think I'll try posting one every night this week. Perhaps I'll even post another chapter tonight. As I stated in the last chapter, most of the following chapters won't have author's notes. I've only included one for this as a sort of apology for the one reviewer who bothered to look at this work, leave a review, and then became sorely disappointed when I did** ** _nothing_** **with the story. My apologies, and hopefully I will not leave anyone hanging again with this story.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~Nicole813711**


	4. Arc I: Zephyr II

**Disclaimer: The only things I own are any characters that aren't recognizable from the Harry Potter franchise. All else belongs to JK Rowling.**

 **Zephyr II**

Following the events after her sixth birthday, Zephyr worked her absolute hardest to control her powers, as they had dubbed it. Her mother had taken Zephyr to a psychologist, who could help Zephyr work through her anger management. It was through him that Zephyr discovered a few useful tips for controlling her powers. She learned that meditation was a good way, and through this she found her inner balance. Once she had found her balance, she had decided to work on developing her powers. Using them and controlling them to bend to her will. Soon enough, she was able to do all sorts of things with a simple wave of her hand or a thought. She could lock and unlock doors, make objects levitate, and even call an object to her from several blocks away (the last one being discovered when she had left her textbook home one day and had seen it whizzing down the block).

In addition to her development of powers, she had also developed some alarmingly complex mnemonic devices. At the age of nine, she had managed to recreate the interior of a palace she had seen in her history textbooks by memory. Furthermore, she had begun to use the method of loci to attach simple memories to various objects. It was fuzzy, and a work in progress, but the progress was alarming for one of such young age. As if that wasn't enough, her teachers were convinced she was a genius. This, coupled with her self-imposed isolation, allowed for few friends.

Despite all of her achievements, she had few to share them with. The only ones who knew were her brother, her mother, and her step-father, Erebus' father, Tyler Bane. Even at that, none of them had shared in her powers, and none knew of how amazing these advancements really were. On the other hand, Zephyr really didn't mind too much. She knew her parents were proud of her and loved her regardless. She knew they thought she was amazing, and when her brother had started showing signs of the same powers at age seven (Zephyr was nine and so proud!), she took it upon herself to guide him. Though it was soon evident that Erebus' powers didn't come as naturally as Zephyr's, he still made progress.


	5. Arc I: Zephyr III

Disclaimer: The only things I own are any characters that aren't recognizable from the Harry Potter franchise. All else belongs to JK Rowling.

 **Zephyr III**

Halfway between Zephyr's tenth and eleventh birthdays saw a huge change in the family dynamic. Her mother's company had undergone a management change, and as such, the family needed to relocate to the United Kingdom. More specifically, they were moving to a suburb not far from London. She still had trouble pronouncing the name ("Mom? Where is it? Brickstown?"; "No, baby. _Brixton_ "), but she didn't mind the change so much. She and Erebus didn't have many friends of their own, so it wasn't much trouble relocating. Besides, if it meant their mother could keep her job, they were happy.

Tyler, however, was a little more difficult. Their father didn't work for an international corporation like their mother, and as such, he had an important decision to make. He could either go with them and search for a job, or keep his old one and be left behind. Ultimately, he decided to keep the job for the time being until he took care of all the other adult stuff that adults took care of. Erebus had been curious and had asked what sort of stuff, and Zephyr had explained in her 'bored' voice that their father had to find a job and secure documentation- all sorts of _legal_ stuff. At this, Erebus had wrinkled his nose and walked away.

And so, that's how they were found that June, right after school let out, weeks before her eleventh birthday. They were waiting at JFK International Airport, just outside of New York, for their flight that would take them away from the United States. Zephyr waited silently while her brother clung to their father, crying about how it wasn't fair. Zephyr had to bite back a retort about life not being fair, but she ultimately said goodbye to her father, took her brother's hand, and followed their mother towards the gate. She paused as her mother was handing over the tickets, and she looked back at her father one last time. He smiled, waving brightly at her, and she waved in return, mouthing that she loved him. With that, she turned and got on the plane. As they sat together, preparing for the long flight, she couldn't understand why her mother was crying, looking out the window at the airport.


	6. Arc I: McGonagall I

Disclaimer: The only things I own are any characters that aren't recognizable from the Harry Potter franchise. All else belongs to JK Rowling.

 **McGonagall I**

Not long after Zephyr and her family had landed, moving into their new suburb, did Professor Minerva McGonagall hear a strange noise. She looked up from her lesson plans and around her office, seeing nothing out of place. It was only when one of her cupboards rattled that she stood, cautiously making her way over. Upon opening it, a muggle safe box, charmed and warded against unwanted eyes, fell out. She gingerly lifted the box and placed it on the desk before removing the wards. Inside was a thick book that was vibrating at an alarming pace.

She quickly pulled the book out and placed it on the desk, watching it curiously. The book flipped open, pages whirling by, until it stopped on a page that had a long list of names. The book continued vibrating until Minerva removed the matching quill, which immediately flew from her hands to scrawl a name across the very bottom of the list. Tilting her head, she read the words: _Zephyr Carbino, Muggleborn, June 21st 1974_. Looking up to check the underlined title, she saw that it was the list of students for the Class of '92. This was the class that would be entering the school this August!

Minerva quickly shut the book and ran from her office, pausing only briefly to ward the door, and headed straight for the staircase. Minutes later found her enter the Headmaster's office, book in tow. He looked up, and upon noticing her alarm, made the appropriate inquiries. When she showed him the relevant page, he simply clicked his tongue, eyes twinkling. "It's obvious- we must have a professor take her letter to her on her eleventh birthday."

"But Albus! We don't have enough teachers! There are more muggleborn students than previous years! Professors Sprout and I simply can't handle them all!" She protested with a groan, looking down at the name again. The birthday was on the summer solstice! She already had plans for a wonderful witching party with some of her other female colleagues!

"Not to worry, Minerva. I'll ask around. Perhaps Severus could cover this one."

"Absolutely not! He'll scare the poor dear!" She cried, aghast.

"Minerva, please. I have absolute faith in Severus. You forget he was raised as a muggle. He'll be fine." She frowned at this, but realized it was a dismissal. Albus wouldn't hear anymore of it, and so, she let it go. She could only hope that poor dear would survive Severus.


End file.
